Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More and the Strangers’ Case
Shakespeare writes about race. A lot. Othello and The Merchant of Venice are just the best known examples. Most regard Shakespeare’s writings as humanising the …
English-Italian Translation
Ameen Rihani – from A Chant of Mystics and Other Poems
Ameen Rihani was an emigré Lebanese poet who wrote in English and Arabic. Like Kahlil Gibran and May Ziadeh, who were well known to him …
A Visit to the Queanbeyan Library
When I first visited the Queanbeyan Library, it was housed in the old council chambers. After that, it moved from place to place, and is …
Echoes of Other Tongues
The poem below plays with language and voice. Recently I have been publishing poems in bilingual form: an original accompanied by a translation (English-Italian or …
Mellon – The World’s Best Known Elvish Word
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the fellowship must pass through a gate that bars the way into Moria. To enter they must find …
Dead Earth Dead Sea – A New Midrash
This poem was inspired by my muse (my beautiful wife) while we were on the Sydney ocean walk between Coogee and Bronte. As she was …
Kahlil Gibran’s On Love From the Prophet
From Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet: On Love Dal Profeta di Kahlil Gibran: Sull’amore Then said Almitra, Speak to us of Love. And he raised his …
Marengo Chicken: the Battle that put Napoleon on the Throne
My poem below is about the Battle of Marengo (Piedmont, Italy, 14 June 1800) and “Marengo Chicken“, a dish inspired by the battle. In June …
Bones and Stones – Civilisation is Not Measured in Piled up Steel
In this poem I ask what we mean when we say ‘civilisation’. If you look at typical definitions you find answers that suggest complexity, hierarchy, …